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Andrea Mantegna

The Elephants, from The Triumph of Julius Caesar

c. 1498
Engraving on paper
27.7 × 26.1 cm (10.9 × 10.3 in)

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In the collection of Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · as of July 2026

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

This engraving depicts Julius Caesar entering Rome after his conquest of Gaul in 46 b.c., the greatest military victory of his career. Dante was not afraid of making his political opinions known in the Inferno ; the three worst traitors in history—Julius Caesar’s assassins, Brutus, Cassius, and Judas Iscariot—dangle from the mouth of Lucifer in the final circle of hell. After his assassination, Caesar himself would join Orpheus in Dante’s limbo.

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